


The Worst Men Give the Best Advice

by TheSpasticFantastic



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23770267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpasticFantastic/pseuds/TheSpasticFantastic
Summary: Sylvain has some advice for young Dimitri regarding his mysterious not-girlfriend.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Kudos: 71





	The Worst Men Give the Best Advice

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was written for Tumblr's "Sothismas in Spring" fic swap. Thank you Fericita for beta reading this!

“Hey, Your Highness, whatcha up to?” Dimitri winced as he heard Sylvain’s voice behind him. Another moment and his friend easily fell into step next to him. “I figured you’d be training, but here you are. Heading out for the day?”

“Yes,” Dimitri said stiffly, practically speaking into his chest. He kept his head down so that Sylvain couldn’t see the flaming red of his cheeks. He walked quickly, hoping that his friend would take the hint and lose interest.

“Are you going to the market?”

“No.”

“To meet up with Ingrid and watch the Pegasus Knights training?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Huh.” Sylvain grinned and snapped his fingers. “Then who’s the lucky girl?”

Dimitri blanched. Was he that obvious? 

“There’s – there’s no lucky girl, Sylvain!” He spluttered, glancing left and right in the hopes that no one was within earshot.

“Aw, come on, Your Highness. Any girl who’s got the attention of the Prince of Faerghus has to know she’s lucky.” Sylvain clapped him on his shoulder and Dimitri flushed. 

That wasn’t the way of it when he was with El. She understood the things he didn’t say. She was willing to let him stomp all over her feet so he could master the dances he’d never learned in cotillion. Mostly, he felt that he was the one lucky to be with her.

“Listen,” Sylvain drawled. “We can run around this thing all morning, or you can ‘fess up and just tell me about you little girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Ok, ok!” Sylvain raised his hands with a triumphant smirk as he walked backwards, facing Dimitri. “But there _is_ a girl, right?” Dimitri flushed again and scowled. “I’m not trying to make fun of you! I’m impressed. I know not everyone has my natural charms when it comes to the ladies.”

Dimitri rolled his eyes. “Sylvain,” he sighed wearily as he stopped walking.

“Listen, you can roll your eyes all you want, but who else do you know who has as much experience with the ladies as I do?”

Dimitri hesitated. He wished Sylvain didn’t look so smug, but he had a point. At fifteen, his friend did have a different pretty girl on his arm every night of the week. And while that wasn’t behavior he was interested in emulating, he had to admit that Sylvain seemed to know a lot about girls. He definitely knew what to say to them, whereas Dimitri always felt a bit tongue-tied in El’s presence. 

El was . . .well, El was different. Or maybe it was just that he felt differently around her. She wasn’t like the girls he had known all of his life, like Ingrid, who was practically a sister to him. He never minded when he said something stupid in front of Ingrid or when he erred in one of their matches. If he accidentally trod on her foot while dancing, he might get teased by Glenn, but he could easily laugh it off. But he didn’t think about other girls. He didn’t long for their company, no matter how much he might enjoy their companionship, the way he longed for El’s.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Dimitri said slowly. “But she’s . . .she’s kind of special to me.”

“You’ve never quite met anyone like her?” Sylvain asked knowingly.

“No,” he admitted and rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t.”

“She makes you feel weird in ways you’ve never felt before?”

“Well, not ‘weird’, just –“

“Different? Kind of like you’re not sure if you’re flying or falling?”

“Yes.” He blinked in surprise. That was exactly what being around El was like at times. They could hold a comfortable conversation for hours and then, suddenly, she would catch him in her eyes and he felt like his blood was running both hot and cold. Like he wasn’t certain if he should stay or go. It was always as though there was something he was supposed to _do_ , but he couldn’t quite puzzle it out.

“Yeah.” Sylvain grinned and shook his head. “That’s puppy love for you.”

“It’s not puppy love!” He balled his fists.

“Hey, don’t be so uptight! It happens to every young man at some point. And it’s completely normal to feel a little in over your head. Trust me. That’ll go away with time.” Dimitri considered his friend’s words. It wasn’t that what he felt was unpleasant. He just wasn’t used to all of the uncertainty.

“What . . .what am I supposed to be _doing_?”

“Doing?” Sylvain raised an eyebrow. “You mean . . .?”

“I just don’t know what to _do_. What to say. How I should act.”

“Oh,” Sylvain laughed. “Whew, you had me worried there for a minute. Listen, Your Highness, you don’t have to _do_ anything. Just enjoy her company. Make her feel special. You have the ultimate card to play – you’re a prince! Any girl would want to spend time with you.”

Dimitri held his tongue. He hadn’t exactly been forthright with El about who he was. She knew he was of the nobility, she clearly was as well – even if it was foreign nobility – but that was all. It made him feel a little guilty, but he didn’t want El to spend time with him just because of a title. Although part of him believed that she found a title to far less impressive than a person. She stood on individual merit.

Sylvain regarded him for a long moment. A smile slowly spreading across his face. “Unless . . .she doesn’t know?” Dimitri looked away as Sylvain crowed with laughter. “See, Your Highness, if I were you and I had a pickup line like “I’m the Prince of Faerghus, I would use it _all_ the time.”

“I’m not you, Sylvain,” Dimitri replied with a withering glare. “And this girl is different. It wouldn’t impress her.”

“Really?” Sylvain sounded impressed. “Well then, by all means keep your identity a big secret.” He clicked his tongue. “As for what to do . . .you just act like yourself. If you don’t want her to know who you are and you want her to like you for _you_ – it’s pretty simple. Just be _you_. And if she doesn’t go for it, then she isn’t the right girl for you. And I’ll take you out to meet some ladies and you can tell them that you’re the Prince of Faerghus.”

Dimitiri grimaced at that last part, but had to grudgingly admit that Sylvain’s advice made sense. El didn’t seem to suffer fools gladly, but she let him spend time with her as often as he could. And even if she was one of the most extraordinarily compassionate individuals he had ever met, he didn’t believe she would merely endure his company if she didn’t enjoy it.

“Thank you, Sylvain,” he said. “I didn’t expect such forthright advice from you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m full of surprises,” Sylvain replied dryly. “You’d have figured it out on your own. It’s just when everything is new, it’s hard to think straight. Once you fall in love with a few girls, it gets a lot easier.”

“I’m not in love-“

“Anyway, I’m gonna go over to the training arena to get some lance drills in before dinner. You enjoy your time with your friend. And if you need any more advice, you know who to ask. When it comes to the ladies, I mean. And since I’ve taken you under my wing, don’t embarrass me by saying something stupid or getting her the wrong gift.”

“I’m not under your wing, Sylvain!” Dimitri called after him as he walked away with a careless wave. He sighed as he watched him go. He shook his head and started out again. Sylvain had a point, though. 

El seemed to like him well enough when he just muddled through the awkward existence of being a young man. He could continue to do that. And maybe he should think about getting her a gift. He just didn’t know what to get her. But that was fine. He had time to figure it out. He had time to figure it out and make it perfect.


End file.
